'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' swings to record-breaking $72m in previews, beating 'Avengers: Endgame'

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' has surpassed the record of $60m set by 'Avengers: Endgame' in 2019

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has smashed the all-time record for Thursday preview screenings, earning an estimated $72 million at the domestic box office before its official opening day and surpassing the previous record of $60 million set by Avengers: Endgame in 2019. The milestone marks the biggest preview haul in cinema history.

The latest Marvel and Sony blockbuster has also comfortably overtaken the $50 million preview total posted by Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, signalling another huge theatrical success for Tom Holland's web-slinger. The record-breaking start has fuelled expectations that the film will deliver one of the biggest opening weekends ever.

While Avengers: Endgame remains the benchmark with the largest opening weekend in history – earning $357 million domestically and an unprecedented $1.2 billion globally – Spider-Man: Brand New Day is projected to debut with $260 million to $280 million in North America. If those estimates hold, it would become the second-biggest domestic opening weekend of all time, overtaking Spider-Man: No Way Home and trailing only Endgame. Some industry projections have suggested the film could even surpass $300 million, though Sony has issued a more conservative forecast of $190 million to $195 million.

If it crosses the $200 million mark, Brand New Day will join an exclusive club of just 10 films to achieve the feat domestically. Before its release, only nine films had opened above $200 million: Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Deadpool & Wolverine, Jurassic World, The Avengers and Black Panther.

Internationally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to add between $275 million and $300 million during its opening weekend, although analysts believe the final figure could exceed those projections. By comparison, Spider-Man: No Way Home debuted with $327 million internationally and $587 million worldwide, making it the third-biggest global opening in box office history.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day sees Holland reprise his role as Peter Parker alongside Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo and Sadie Sink. The film has been positioned as the beginning of a new era for Spider-Man following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, with early audience demand suggesting Marvel and Sony have another blockbuster on their hands.